Experience

09.01.2013

As one door closes, another wonderful door opens.

These past weeks and especially these last few days have been the most exciting times of my life so far. Project NB1376 is drawing to a close, marking the start of the saga of M/S Viking Grace. Simple ideas – once a collection of drawings – have finally sprung to life. The 3D illustrations created by the architects have been transformed into the real spaces of a very real ship. Long lists of orders have become tangible items to be collected from the loading dock. The new staff, only recently a series of digits on contracts, now consists of actual individuals ready to board. It may seem that I’m excited about the little things, but the past couple of weeks have shown me that dreams do come true and that great goals can be achieved. We have, of course, also come across things that didn’t work out as expected. It took me quite a while to grasp the enormity of this project. In the end, everything consists of compromises between architects, sub-contractors, designers, authorities and engineers. Lots of people have added their own flavor to the mix that is M/S Viking Grace; I’ve had the pleasure of being one of those people.

All throughout the ship spirits are high, despite the last minute rush. Everyone is working together to help out as best as possible. Different areas and spaces are being finalized one by one as restaurant furniture arrives and Tax-Free shelves are stocked. Soon even the balls I ordered for the ball pond will arrive. The LED wall of Club Vogue has been tested a few times and it’s magnificent. Our very own resident mascot and cat Ville Viking has also embarked. There are no words to describe this feeling: we are all so incredibly proud of this ship and we want you, our future passengers, to share this feeling with us. We want to thank every one who has followed the project this far. Thank you for all the comments and ideas that you’ve shared with us. Hopefully we’ll meet on board and when you travel with us, please do come by and say hi! You’re most likely to find me and my colleagues in different restaurants around the ship or in the Cruise Manager office on deck 10. As long as we’re there, the door to our office will always be open!

Okay, the warehouse is calling me now. Maybe the karaoke books or Microsoft Xbox games have arrived?

Tags

About Viking Line

In 1959 first genuine Baltic Sea car ferry, the S/S Viking, was placed in traffic between the Finnish mainland, the Åland Islands and Sweden. This was the first phase of an almost revolutionary expansion in ferry communications. More than 50 vessels have sailed in the fleets of the Viking Ship companies, and over 175 million passengers have travelled with the company’s vessels since the start. Today Viking Line has seven vessels in traffic on the Baltic Sea serving more than 6,4 million passengers per year. Operations include passenger services, recreation and cargo carrier services. The number of employees is approximately 3,000. The company was listed on Helsinki Stock exchange in 1995.